End of the Line
by WayLowHalo
Summary: They were in Rusty's office on the top floor and there was anywhere between seconds and a half an hour before they were found. Trapped. End of the line. No more running. Danny and Rusty centric.


_Author's Note:  Hello everyone!  So actually this story was posted before, but then I took it down, but it's back now!  And first and foremost I want to thank InSilva, because she PMed me when I took it down and I don't think I ever responded to her.  So thank you!  I really appreciated your concern and the fact that you liked this story!  _

_Otherhawk too... but I'm fairly certain I did respond to that PM.  _

_Anyway, this is just a very short little piece that was inspired by the prompt, "The end is near."  It's dark. And as a fair warning, it does involve character death.  _

_**Disclaimer**:  Not mine. _

**End of the Line**

It's funny what comes to one's mind in one's final moments.

For Danny and Rusty it was to think of how they had begun. Of smiles and wit and charm and playing the game like there was nothing to lose.

How they came to be here featured in their thoughts too, of course and there was comfort at least in knowing there was nothing they could have done differently.

First there had been a hotel and a casino and money. Lots of money. Then had come the assassins, swift, unstoppable, infinite, and in retrospect maybe they had finally messed with the wrong person.

They had run, of course. It was all they had been able to do. And they had ran, and they ran, and they ran, and for a while it had seemed luck was on their side.

And maybe they were just that good. Maybe they could outrun the devil himself.

Time though, had caught up with them, as it always does, and now they were back in Rusty's hotel and there was no way out. All the exits were being watched.

Trapped.

End of the line.

No more running.

And, really, they had never been one to enjoy the running anyway. It had chaffed with some part of them that would much rather face their enemies. Look into their eyes with a grin and a smile that was always amused. Because life was a game. And if you were good you played it like you had nothing to lose.

Even if you did.

And loss came, and true to their reputations they were the last two that would pay the price. The last two to meet their fate, as it were. And that was a whole other level of pain, and it very well may have reflected more on their enemies' cruelty and ruthlessness than on their skill.

Now they were in Rusty's office on the top floor and there was anywhere between seconds and a half an hour before they were found.

"Danny…"

There was so much to say. So much, and so little time.

Across the room their eyes met, and ultimately they both knew and words really were unnecessary.

"Rus…"

"Tess," Rusty said abruptly and Danny shook his head, because, yeah, that hurt.

"Not your fault," he said immediately. Because it wasn't. In the end she just hadn't understood. At least she had left before all this had started. At least she was safe now.

The sound of footsteps then. Doors slamming. Muffled shouts. Getting closer.

Almost out of time.

Their eyes met again. Danny nodded. Rusty grinned. They were in agreement.

_No regrets._

They wouldn't change a thing even if they could.

"One last drink?" Danny asked and was rewarded by another grin.

"Chocolate too," Rusty said, already at his own personal mini-bar, and, really, Danny had known that one was coming.

Sitting on the couch they clinked their glasses together. A toast to everything that was and everything that could have been.

"Really should've thanked Reuben," Rusty said lightly, because after all, it had been Reuben who had started everything. Reuben who had introduced the two of them and it had been the best part of his life, being Danny's partner.

A pause, and of course Danny understood what Rusty was saying, because before Rusty there had been darkness and boredom and after him, all was possible.

"Me too."

_No regrets._

And that deserved another toast, another clink of their glasses.

And when their door practically burst off of its hinges, and the sound of the safety being clicked off of many guns filled the room, they were looking at only each other, and they were ready.

_No regrets._

**The End.**

_A/N: So I know it's a relatively popular fanfiction theory to have Saul be the one to initially introduce Danny and Rusty, but I liked that scene in 13 when they're both talking about meeting Reuben and it just seems far-fetched to me that they would know each other and still meet Reuben separately. I dunno. So I had Reuben be the one to introduce them. (shrugs) Anyway.  Hope you liked!  Reviews would be appreciated.  _


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